From use of pellet guns in Kashmir to PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik and Dipa Karmakar winning medals at the Rio Olympics to Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee leading protest march against Centre, here is what made the headlines this year.

Beginning from this issue, INDIA TODAY presents the first in a series of special reports on Indian states, providing an overview of their political, economic, social and cultural conditions. This fortnight, we zero-in on Karnataka, whose development accomplishments are little known. Apart from its industrial progress and cultural renaissance the state has undergone a political awakening in recent years. A survey.

"The entry of Rajiv Gandhi into the Indian political scene should be welcomed and let us hope that he will not follow his mother's footsteps. Being a young and energetic man, he's bound to have more democratic views than his mother. I do not like certain papers decrying his entry into politics."

In Tamil Nadu, villagers and slum-dwellers shrink in fear when someone knocks on their door late at night. The callers might be a small posse of constables, come to arrest an Anthonyswamy or a Thanthoni for some petty crime or the other.

Last fortnight's toxic gas leak in Bhopal is the worst industrial disaster in history. A horrifying instance of negligence at the Union Carbide plant and the failure of safety systems led to the death of 2,500 people and injuries to thousands more.

Startling facts about the growth of cancerous diseases in India were revealed at a recent seminar in New Delhi. Health officials have come to the conclusion that cancer is one of the top three killers of adults all over the country.

The stage for the dismissal of the NTR ministry was set meticulously. The coup of August 16, which began a day earlier, had been planned weeks, if not months, in advance. Nadendla Bhaskara Rao, the traitor in NTR's cabinet who finally upstaged him and usurped the chief minister's office, was nurtured with the care of an assassin keeping his dagger honed.

The prime minister's accord with Akali Dal President Harchand Singh Longowal seemed to have resolved the Punjab crisis. There was widespread relief but while the implications were still uncertain, rumblings came from Akali circles promising further turmoil.

More than three years after becoming prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi has changed: physically, politically, attitudinally. A detailed look at the evolution of a young prime minister, while an exclusive opinion poll gauges the mood of the nation.

The new Government got down to business with surprising smoothness and purpose. The kidnapping of the home minister's daughter created an unforeseen crisis, but overall it was an encouraging start. Both the appointments to the ministry and the new policies unveiled on several fronts were greeted with approval.